All about the controversy surrounding TM Krishna and why carnatic singers are protesting against his award?
Musical duo Ranjani-Gayatri and other renowned singers including Harikatha exponent Dushyanth Sridhar expressed their anger and said they will not perform at the Music Academy Conference 2024 after Carnatic Musician TM Krishna was awarded the Sangita Kalanidhi.
Three days after Carnatic Musician TM Krishna the Sangita Kalanidhi of the Music Academy, noted Carnatic singers Ranjani-Gayatri and Harikatha exponent Dushyanth Sridhar expressed their anger and marked their protest by withdrawing from the Music Academy Conference 2024. The musical duo took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and said that they would not be performing during the concert, which will take place on December 25.
Ranjani and Gayatri’s Twitter post
The musical duo also said that their main decision to withdraw from participating in the Music Academy Conference was solely due to TM Krishna as he was to chair the event. In their statement, Ranjani and Gayatri told
Ranjani and Gayatri accused TM Krishna of openly proposing the genocide of Brahmins
Ranjani and Gayatri’s Twitter post also mentioned that TM Krishna was openly proposing the genocide of Brahmins. The musical duo wrote: “It is dangerous to overlook TM Krishna’s glorification of a figure like EVR (Periyar), who openly proposed a genocide of the Brahmins, repeatedly called out/abused every woman of this community with disgusting blasphemy, ruthlessly worked towards normalizing foul language in social discourse (sic).”
View the message here:
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We have communicated our decision to withdraw from participation in the 2024 Music Academy conference and from the presentation of our concert on December 25.
We took this decision because the conference was to be chaired by TM Krishna. #madrasmusicacademy #respectcarnatic music— Ranjani Gayatri (@ranjanigayatri) March 20, 2024
Ranjani and Gayatri are not the only ones who have protested against TM Krishna being honored with the Sangita Kalanidhi award. Noted Vedic speaker Dushyanth Sridhar has expressed the same when he wrote a letter to the President of the Academy of Music stating that he no longer wants to perform on January 1, citing the reason that it would be disrespectful to his gurus to perform immediately after TM Krishna to act. is awarded.
Why is TM Krishna in the news?
Singers have leveled allegations against TM Krishna, claiming that he often used derogatory language against Brahmin women and actively used vulgar language during conversations. The singers have accused Krishna of causing significant damage to the Carnatic music industry by disrespectfully ignoring the sentiments of the community and esteemed figures such as Tyagaraja And MS Subbulakshmi.
TM Krishna, a celebrated Carnatic musician, has been selected as the recipient of the Sangita Kalanidhi award for the year 2024. This prestigious award, often compared to the Oscars in the world of Carnatic music, is presented by the Music Academy in Chennai.